Campaign loyalists now in Newsom's inner circle

Newsom hails 4 as 'superstars'

Published 4:00 am, Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Photo: Lance Iversen, The Chronicle

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Gubernatorial hopeful San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom talks with some of the senior staff members of San Quentin Prison who explains some of their unique problems trying to run an old prison. Friday June 19, 2009 less

Gubernatorial hopeful San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom talks with some of the senior staff members of San Quentin Prison who explains some of their unique problems trying to run an old prison. Friday June 19, ... more

Photo: Lance Iversen, The Chronicle

Campaign loyalists now in Newsom's inner circle

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Since dropping out of the governor's race two months ago, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom has hired four staff members from his campaign to work in his inner circle at City Hall even though none of them has any experience in municipal government.

One is the actor son of one of Newsom's longtime friends, former state Democratic Party Chairman Art Torres. Another replaced a well-liked staffer dismissed by Newsom. Another is a wealthy former lobbyist who has donated generously to Democrats - and is now Newsom's deputy chief of staff, earning $131,100. Newsom called the four young men "superstars" who proved during his campaign that they can work long hours and who agreed to come on board despite earning slightly less than their predecessors.

Those factors are important, the mayor said, because the city is facing a $522 million budget deficit for the 2010-11 fiscal year and Newsom's staff of 48 people is small compared with previous mayoral administrations.

"It's how I lead by example," Newsom said.

But critics say the hirings amount to payback for campaign staff - and that giving six-figure salaries to people with no experience in city government is no way to help fix a bleeding budget. "I understand his loyalty to people who worked hard on his gubernatorial campaign, but I would say, in the middle of a budget crisis, it's going to raise eyebrows," said Charles Marsteller, who previously headed the government watchdog group Common Cause in San Francisco.

Marsteller said the move is particularly ironic because Newsom campaigned for mayor in 2003 touting ethics reform and slamming cronyism. "On his way out, maybe he's a little less sensitive to the issue," Marsteller said. Newsom will be termed out in January 2012.

Robert Stern, president of the Center for Governmental Studies in Los Angeles, said it's fairly common for elected officials to hire campaign staff - or for their government hires to join the campaign team. "It happens frequently," he said. "They get to know people and get to know their strengths and weaknesses, and also there is the reward factor. Particularly when you're not running for re-election, you don't have that much to lose - reputation maybe - but there's nothing illegal about it."

Keeping mayor on time

Most notable among Newsom's recent hires from the campaign is Yashar Hedayat, 30, who is now Newsom's deputy chief of staff.

Hedayat joined Newsom's campaign as a volunteer in February and became a paid staff member in May. He handled the logistics of Newsom's travel schedule and town hall events and was often seen encouraging the perennially late mayor to get to the airport to catch his flights.

The son of a wealthy family in Chicago, Hedayat never attended college, instead moving to Los Angeles to pursue a career in Hollywood. He worked as a production assistant on TV shows including "ER" and "Chicago Hope."

He then became interested in politics, working on Steve Westly's 2006 campaign for governor and Hillary Rodham Clinton's run for president before joining Newsom's campaign. A former federal lobbyist, he has given thousands of dollars to Democratic candidates.

Asked whether he could afford the donations because of his family's money, he said, "My parents have worked very hard. ... They've been very nice to their son."

His new role at City Hall entails overseeing Newsom's schedule, coordinating meetings and arranging travel.

"My skills that the mayor was witness to on the campaign are the same skills I'm implementing here," he said. "I'm here to execute the mayor's vision. ... He has so much he wants to do, and I'm getting that done for him."

Men called 'highly qualified'

Joaquin Torres worked for a few weeks as an organizer on the mayor's gubernatorial campaign before Newsom quit the race.

His resume is a lengthy list of acting and publishing achievements, including co-starring in regional theater productions with actors Stanley Tucci and Kevin Kline.

Nicholas Panagopoulos worked as a field director for Newsom's campaign starting in April. Controversy arose when he was hired to fill one of two vacancies left in the Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Services after Newsom dismissed two well-liked members of that team this month.

Both were praised by their former boss, Mike Farrah, as "two of the mayor's best employees" and were honored recently with proclamations by the Board of Supervisors.

Newsom's staff has refused to say why they were let go, but there has been speculation around City Hall that they didn't do enough for Newsom's campaign. (One donated $200, while the other donated nothing.)

Jason Elliott, who was Newsom's deputy campaign manager and who researched policy for him, has been hired to fill a previously vacant position, that of Newsom's policy adviser, specializing in transportation and infrastructure. He was one of the campaign's first hires, signing on in September 2008.

Nick Clemens, who was Newsom's campaign manager, praised all four of the mayor's new hires, saying, "They're all highly qualified individuals who can certainly contribute to city government in San Francisco."

The mayor has made two other hires in his inner circle since quitting the governor's race: new spokesman Tony Winnicker and budget analyst Renee Willette. Both are also making slightly less than their predecessors, and both have substantial resumes.

'Problematic' additions

The campaign hires are likely to become a bone of contention during upcoming budget negotiations between Newsom and the Board of Supervisors. Supervisor John Avalos, chairman of the budget committee, called the campaign hires "unseemly."

"I guess he thought he could give them jobs if he was governor, and now he wants to give them jobs as mayor," he said.

Supervisor David Campos said he was especially irked to lose his popular district liaison in the Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Services. The new hires have no connection to San Francisco.

"The reality is you want someone who not only will serve the interests of the mayor, but ultimately the interests of the city," he said.

S.F. mayor's new hires who worked on gubernatorial campaign

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom has hired four members of his gubernatorial campaign staff to join his inner circle at City Hall, raising questions among critics about their lack of experience.

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